Not a Bad Day
by save changes to normal
Summary: Short Jack and Daniel friendship story. Set first season. Oneshot.


A/N:Just a fun, sweet something that begged to be written. Not my usual category, but I just got season 1, and I loved this show!

Daniel Jackson walked briskly with quick, nervous strides through the halls of the SGC, wondering, not for the first time, what the heck he thought he was doing. He tried to keep his shoulders square and his chin up, but his body was definitely trying to do that shutting in on itself thing it usually did when faced with matters of self-preservation. _Come on, Jackson,_ he said to himself. _You're an explorer. You step across the universe on a weekly basis. You've helped save said universe on more than one occasion. _All of that was true. Yet none of it came in particularly handy in light of what he was about to face. Come to think of it, when it came right down to it, he probably would've taken staring down an angry Goa'uld to what he was currently about to attempt.

He stopped outside the colonel's door. Jack had been insufferably cranky lately, more so than usual. But hopefully, with any luck, what he held in his hands would change that. He fingered the paper sack uncertainly as a wave of sudden vulnerability washed over him, and he was tempted to leave. But no. This was Jack. Jack, who had gone out of his way to get Daniel on his team. Jack, who had done more to help him get back on his feet than he would've thought possible. Jack, who, despite all their differences, perhaps despite all logic and common sense, was his best friend. So, no matter what it did to Daniel's fragile self-esteem, he was going to do what he could to at least try to bring Jack out of this slump.

He took a deep breath, once again having to straighten his sagging shoulders. He knocked on the door.

… … …

Colonel O'Neill looked up. That had better not be another mix-up in paperwork. If he was going to be forced to write the stupid reports, was it so much to ask that they be filed properly? No way was he writing the thing again. He'd tell them to make something up.

"What?" he called gruffly.

The shaggy head that poked through his door was little relief. _Ah, Daniel._ Not what he needed. Not today. Not when he was already trying so hard not to be reminded. Surely Daniel had picked up on the various subtle and not-so-subtle hints. He said nothing as the younger man floundered for a moment, hovering in the doorway with a small grin that managed to telegraph every bit of the uncertainty he was feeling. Kid should never play poker.

"Um, Jack?"

"Daniel," Jack allowed.

"Can I…come in?"

Jack crossed his arms. If it was something relevant to the Gate or to a mission or even to one of those Daniel-areas like translations or ruins or whatever, the guy would've barged in and started talking whether Jack wanted him to or not. Which meant this was something personal. Crap. Against his better judgment, he nodded his head for the young archeologist to enter. "What do you want, Daniel?" He never said he had to be nice about it.

"Oh, um, well…" Daniel trailed off and winced. He was holding a brown paper bag in his hands. "I just, I figured that…"

"Daniel," Jack said slowly without any real patience. "What's in the bag?"

"It's for you," the linguist finally managed to blurt. He took a few steps forward, setting the bag on the desk. "Since, you know…"

Jack closed his eyes briefly. The kid meant well. He realized that. Honestly, though, he was tempted to tell him to get out. It was on his lips, but when he opened his eyes, the civilian scientist beat him to it. "Actually, know what? It's stupid. I'm sorry, this is probably…stupid. You probably have stuff to do. I'm just going to go. See you tomorrow. Have a nice…um…bye." Before Jack could get word one in, Daniel had all but fled from the room. Without the bag.

Jack sighed and rubbed his hand down his face. Daniel never could leave well enough alone, could he? Heck, his knack for never leaving well enough alone was one reason he was so good at what he did. It was also why Jack so frequently found himself holding bedside vigils in the infirmary for SG-1's resident trouble magnet.

He eyed the unwanted gift dubiously. What was he supposed to do with this? This was just like Daniel. But in the end, Jack's curiosity won out over his aggravation, and despite himself, he reached for the bag. It was taped at the top. Not particularly heavy. It obviously wasn't a book. Big plus. He finally tore the thing open and dumped its contents onto the desk. There was a magazine-sized stack of papers rolled up and held by a rubber band and a note. He picked up the note, eyes scanning the few nervously-scrawled words. He sighed and shook his head, slipping the band off the papers. What was this going to be? Something archeological in nature, no doubt. Something Daniel would find "fascinating" but would be of little to no interest at all to Jack. Something…

As his eyes fell on the pages, they widened, and it only took a moment for an amazed smile to spread across his face. He sat forward in his seat, eyes moving back and forth quickly across the colorful pages, the amazed smile morphing into an amused grin. He sat like that for a few more minutes before snatching up the papers and the note and heading out the door.

… … …

Daniel was just slipping into his jacket in the locker room. He felt like a complete idiot. What had started off seeming like a relatively good idea now seemed like the dumbest move he'd ever made. Jack probably thought…. No, actually, he had no idea what Jack thought. That prospect was more than a little scary. He leaned his head onto the cool metal locker. Then he banged his head on it.

"You know that kills brain cells? You probably just knocked a language out of your head. Though you probably have a few to spare."

Jack. Daniel fought the groan that so wanted to escape his lips. He didn't move, even as he asked despite himself, "Brain cells or languages?"

The voice that answered sounded amused. "Knowing you? Both."

Daniel had no idea what he was supposed to say to that, so he went with his trusty backup. "I'm sorry, Jack."

"Yeah? For what?" He used his patient, borderline-condescending CO tone he usually used when he already knew the answer. Daniel hated that tone. But it was only fair he finished his apology.

It was then that he realized he had no idea how to finish the apology. Geeze, this was humiliating. "Um, why don't you just start yelling, and I'll figure it out?" He cringed.

The laugh that sounded from behind surprised him, and Daniel felt his face flush. Was Jack actually laughing at him? No point trying to tell himself that didn't sting. He shut his locker and turned without looking at his commanding officer, heading for the door, intent on getting out of the mountain, away from Jack, and back to the relative safety of his apartment. "See you tomorrow, Colonel," he heard himself throw over his shoulder. The colonel surprised him by catching his arm and pulling him back. "Jack, I said I'm sorry," he protested, trying very hard to avoid further embarrassment.

But Jack didn't look mad. He didn't look smug. He didn't even look condescending. "Ah, but you didn't say you were sorry for the right thing," the older man explained.

"What?" Now Daniel was just confused.

Jack grinned. He held up the papers. "You forgot to apologize for neglecting to mention that you could draw like this." Jack watched the uncertainty warring with pleasure at the praise on Daniel's face. He held up the papers. "These are awesome."

Daniel's eyes widened, and he looked suddenly shy. "Oh. Um, I just started working on it for fun. It was just something dumb, but then it reminded me of you." Jack raised an eyebrow that had the anthropologist backpedalling. "I mean, not that you're dumb or anything. No, it just seemed like something you'd like, since…"

"I get it, Daniel," Jack said warmly. The papers in his hands were covered in comic strips featuring his team. Each strip was skillfully designed and colored, the characters perfectly depicting him and Daniel and Sam and Teal'c and even General Hammond and Janet. There were word bubbles and funny comments, and everything was so very over-the-top and so very un-Daniel. It had surprised the heck out of the older man. He'd known Daniel had a quirky sense of humor, but some of the strips were downright hilarious. It actually meant a lot that Daniel had shared it with him. "Thank you."

The younger man actually blushed. "Um, you're welcome. Well…I'm glad you liked it. See you later, Jack."

Jack pretended to look offended. "I don't think so. Pizza night, Danny boy. Tell me you didn't forget."

The spark of confusion on Daniel's face didn't last long. Then he was all grins. "Of course not. I bet Sam and Teal'c did, though. You know how they get."

Jack nodded. "Yep. Better go round 'em up." As he slung an arm around his friend's shoulders, he couldn't help the smile. He didn't know how Daniel did it. But the kid had just taken him from going home to an empty house and trying not to think of what he'd lost to spending the night with the most unusually special people he'd ever met. He sent a sideways glance to his friend, met by intense blue eyes that always sparked memories of a much younger set of intense blue eyes. "You have to quit with these hidden talents. What else you got going for you? Oragami? Wood-working? Pottery?"

Daniel grinned. "I did basket-weaving once."

"Boy scouts?"

"Dig in the Yucatan."

"Ah."

"Hey, Jack?"

"Daniel?"

The briefest pause. "Happy birthday."

Jack smiled. "Yep."

A/N: That's it! Hope you enjoyed. Any reviews are appreciated!


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